Annunciator drop



Patented Feb. 17, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANNU'NGIATOR DROP.

Application filed April 12, 1920.

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that I, CHARLES J. I-IENSGHEL,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of vI New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Annunciator Drops,

of which the following is a full, clear, and

concise description.

My invention relates to annunciator drops of a type suitable for use upon shipboard and in many other relations where the conditions are very exacting, and especially where the annunciator drop is likely to be subjected to the action of exceptionally lb heavy vibrations, shocks and jars, such, for

instance, as are incidental to modern gunfire. V

More particularly stated, I seek to so construct the shutter drop and arrange the parts thereof that the shutter is always looked securely and positively after each of its movements in either direction, and is always positively and effectively released by action of a special form of electromagnet, incidental to the electrical control of the shutter for the purpose of shifting it from one of its positions to the other.

I also seek, as far as practicable, to discard the use of springs and to render the control of the shutter independent of the force of gravity. Reference i made to the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, and in which like characters of reference indicate like parts throughout the figures.

' Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved annunciator drop, showing the mechanism as partly broken away.

Figure 2 is a substantially central horizontal section through the annunciator drop.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective, showing a group of pole pieces forming a part of my device.

Figure 4 is a perspective of the rocking armature used for actuating the shutter.

Figure 5 is a perspective of the shutter.

Figure 6 is a view, partly a perspective and partly a section of the back plate of the device.

Figure 7 is an end elevation of my improved annunciator drop, showing the device as it might be seen by an observer standing at the right of Figure 1, and looking to the left according to this figure.

" I Four magnets are shown at 7, 8, 9, 10, and

Serial No. 373,418.

are of the kind commonly designated in this art as single magnets. These magnets are provided with iron cores 11, 12, 13, 14, and these cores are provided with field poles 11, 12 13 14 integral with them and having the form shown.

Separate from the magnets 7, 8, 9, 10, and mounted thereupon at the ends thereof opposite the field poles just mentioned, are pole pieces 15, 16, 17, 18, held in place by screws 19. For this purpose, the pole pieces are provided with holes 19 as shown more particularly in Figure 3. The pole pieces are further provided with portions 15, 16, 17 18, which are merely elongations and which extend inwardly when the pole pieces are in place.

A back plate is shown at 21, and is stamped out of non-magnetic sheet metal, such as brass. The pole pieces 15,16,17,18 and the back plate 21 are mounted upon the magnet cores by means of screws 19. The backplate 21 is provided with a hollow boss 22, having the general form of a nipple. This nipple is provided with a hole 23, and is used for supporting certain parts, as hereinafter described.

A front plate is shown at 24;, and is made of sheet metal stamped out, preferably brass, but in every instance made of nonmagnetic material. The front plate is provided with two portions 25, 26, integral with it but partially severed and bent out parallel with each other, so as to form yokes, serving the general purpose of bearings. Screws 27 are used for securing the yokes upon the magnets.

A latch pin appears at 28, and has the form of a straight rod of small diameter. Mounted rigidly upon the latch pin and carried thereby is a disk armature 29, located in immediate proximity to the adjacent pertions of the pole pieces shown in Figure 3 and above described. A spiral spring 30, partially housed within the hollow boss 22, presses constantly against the disk armature 29, and serves to retract the latch pin 28 after each movement of the latter to the left.

A. rocking armature is shown at 31, and has the general proximate form of a sertor of a cylinder. It is provided with stop lugs 31, 31 which are simply portions of metal integral with the sector just mentioned,this sector being of sheet soft iron or soft? steel. Incidental to; the striking, up of th-e stop lugsy and the partial severance of the metal in consequence, holes 31, 31

are formed in the sector... The sector, is. p

" 3'1 'and31 are spaced" apart by a trifle less further provided" With two portions32',"83,' ntegral with it and bent over to form bear lugs, as may be understood from Figure 4.

These bearings are provided withiholes'3 h:

and the bearing 32 is provided With an -:o.pen=i1ng:=3'5. i'l 'h-is: opening is i, so positioned andinproportioned-i that a. locking tongue to, carried by .azmeinbei 38" as, hereinafter de- -SCil lD.Gd,l may extend; into :the opening, for the purpose ixof? holding certain Vinova ble parts in predetermined"relative positions,

- asexplained: beloav.

'a-Lshutter-appears at 36,;pand, is made entirelyrozlf sheet metal. .It isiprovidedhvith ears-3T, integral with itand bent. as shown i-nli igure 5,:inorder to-hold a display panel 'or 'a card carrying azlegendtobe displayed. The shutten is further? provided with portions i 38,- =39, each substantially triangular .incontour,:.and bent over, so :as to extend in aa=idirectionnlateral tothe r general plane of the shutter. The portion 38--isprovided n wi't-hrthe itongue 140,; above: mentioned. The portions-.38 and -39-are provided with holes 41 ,42, and-serve as.--bearings for-supporting the; shutter.

i'Inq assembling V the; parts the" armature. 31

is ifirstiipl aced in. itfsbproximate position, and

525 and 26 are located-between;portions 38 and'fi39 rivhicltgservegas bearings .for the-.1 shutter; The: pivot epine 43;.is; nextthreaded cthroughrthe various.zholeswpnolvided for the 7' purposezjin :the :bearings; as just described iaindsin athe ,yokes! 25s and-;26-,-andthen the zitnngueeadtisibent-z thro gh the opening The "tongue {fits ineatly-into this hole, and r thus-i serves i'to'; sec-urea the-rocking. armature aan-duthee shutter together, so that. they rock practically as a unit upon the pivot pin.-

The tongue. 40 also-servesanother pur- :.:pose.- i Bylodgi-ngj against the adjacent por- '1tionsAt eaof the yoke 25 the tongue preevents excessive..traveliotthe rocking 3,1111% iiat-urexandt the shutter. Thus the tongue 4:0

and parts coaot-ing;.directly therewith act "collectivelyassalimiting-stop for both the rocki-ngparmature iand' theshutter.

The magnets? and 8 are ,of different ,polarity, and are energized-together as a pair, for the purpose. of. causing the armature and the shutter, as a unit, to rock:in a clock-Wise 4 1 and ,2. ,Tllhemagnets 9-2llld--10,&I'.fiil$0 1 of cl-ifierent polarity,-, andiaszpa'ir areener- 3 gizedtogether tin. orderrto cause the arma- ,t.u -re-.and..sh1itter to rock in.a.ncontra-clockvise;cl-meet onaaccording to. .theztfgiguresnmene 55 tioned.

nets" T-an-dvSE are energized, however, the armature Ell-1s rocked 311113! contra clockwise understood.

direction 1 according to Figures The rocking armature and the shutter connected therewith asifabove described have sary. freedom; ,ofiniovement.

Whenever the magnets 9 and 10 are energized, the rocking armature. 31 r is rocked in a rloclnvise direction so that theshutter is shliifted from: theposition, indicated. for it in: agurel to-the one occupiedbyitaccording. tolEig-urei-Ql. Whenever the magdirection; in other words, iszshifted-from ritsiposition-indicated Figure 2 tor that in which it-appears in Figure- 1. 'l i .liien -;e1.tl1er- 132111 of magnets are: ener- --g11ced, the corresponding pair of ,polepieces 15,, 16,,01': 17,.18, are alsoenergized, and

and 2, so as to increase the compression strain of the spring 30., .As soon, however,

as the magnets :ca-using. thismovement of the: disk armature. to. the left are Ede-enerw gized, the-pressure of thespring restores the disk armature, 1 and consequently the latch 1 -piin.1i28,; to: normal position.

thus: located :b'e .v-eenthe twofyokesz25 and he'sliutteri' 36K, is brought substan-- tia'l'lyz'intoi JlL ESSLPOSlLfilQILE so 1 that the yokes-z In the ligh t the foregoing: description, the operation of? my device: may be readily I lilil The various parts being assembled, the annunci'aitor drop is. ready for use, in; so far Pas;the mechanism here involved is con- .cerned.

Normally all of the magnets are xde-energized. The rocking armatureandthe shutter,asai11nit, have two.,normalpositions, indicated,respectively' inI-Figures l and 2. From one of, thesepositions. to the other they-maybe shifted. by simply energizing and tie-energizingtheunagnets,as above described. E ac-h timethey are shifted, the

'-.-latch. ,pin. 28 isshifted back and forth .in the direction of litsrilength. That is, when either pair ofethedmag nets is energized for a n1onient,,. the latch pin makes a. thrust. to the left according to Figures Land 2,..and then, returns toits normal position, at the rightaccording.ito, thesefigures. Thus normally the. latch pin keeps the ro cking; arma .ture 31,. and consequently the. shutter, se-

curely. locked and unable to move in consequence of any shock, vibration or ]ar. The

.latch pin cannotbe displaced in thee-direc- 'tIOILOf 113$ length by any shock, vibration or jar, Jor by any other ,meansi except in-i'esponse to the magnetic attraction of'the pole pieces.

made therefrom without departing from the spirit of my invention. The scope of my invention is commensurate with my claims.

I claim- 1. In an annunc-iator drop the combination of a movable shutter, a rocking armature connected with said movable shutter for actuating the same, said rocking armature being provided with a stop lug, a magnet for causing said armature to rock in one direction, another magnet for causing said armature to rock in the opposite direction, a latch pin movable in the direction of its own length for the purpose of engaging and disengaging said stop lug in order to lock and release said rocking armature, and an armature carried by said latch pin and controllable by each of said magnets for the purpose of shifting said latch pin in the general direction of its length.

2. In an annunciator drop the combination of a movable shutter a rocking armature connected with said movable shutter for actuating the same, a pair of magnets for rocking said armature in one direction of its travel, another pair of magnets for rocking said armature in the opposite direcion of its travel, a back plate connected with all of said magnets for the purpose of supporting the same, a plurality of pole pieces mounted upon said magnets and disposed adjacent said back plate, an armature disposed adjacent said pole pieces and movable in one direction thereby, a locking member connected with said last mentioned armature and movable thereby for the purpose of engaging and disengaging said rocling armature, and a spring engaging said last mentioned armature and said back plate for the purpose of moving said locking member and said lastanentioned armature in a direction contrary to that in which they are moved by the action of said pole pieces.

CHARLES J. HENSCHEL. 

